And here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy reading it as much I enjoyed writing it! Hahas, oh! From now on, everything will be written in first person.

Chapter II

And then she was Silenced

"Yo!" said Zell, running up to Squall. He halted at when he saw you on the ground. "Whoa like. Squall, you okay dude?"

So that's his name, you thought to yourself.

"GREAT!" said Zell, flashing his trademark grin.

"Zell…how's everyone? The rescue didn't take as long as I thought it would…" said Squall quietly.

"Everyone's way happier! It was like a SeeD MISSION!" said Zell, nearly yelling.

Squall let out a thankful sigh and you could almost see the hint of a smile. He looked burdened still. You wondered what it was that seemed to be troubling him. You suddenly felt a tingle on your feet. As if ants were crawling on them. Ants…ANTS!?

"AH! ANTS!" you screamed, as you jumped up in shock and checked your feet. Nothing. Good. You let out a sigh and turned to face Squall and Zell. They both looked at you with disbelief on their faces. There was an awkward silence as no one knew exactly what to make of what just happened.

"You're…scared of ants?" asked Zell finally. You nod.

"Nice," stated Squall simply. "I think it's time for lunch."

"YEAH!!" screamed Zell. "We're having HOTDOGS! Come on!" He practically dragged you and Squall to where the camping ground was. You saw a girl wearing blue, she was dusting the ground with a broom…wait, DUSTING the GROUND with a BROOM? Wow, she was clean. You looked to your right and saw a girl wearing a mini-yellow dress standing and cuddling a cowboy looking guy. He saw you and flashed you a smile. You smiled back weakly.

"Oh, Squall. Bring her over here, let me check for wounds," came a feminine voice. You turned to face her. She was beautiful. Perfect golden hair which she tied in a unique knot, eyes the colour of sapphires…she seemed perfect. You were almost jealous.

"Yeah," you heard Squall say as he motioned you to go to her. You did, and sat down next to her.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Yeah, what's your name doll?' came another voice. It was the cowboy looking one.

"Umm, I'm -------," you say. "I hope I'm not intruding or anything…I didn't mean to—"

"Nonsense, it wasn't your fault -------. And it wouldn't be right if we just left you either," finished Quistis. "I'm Quistis Trepe by the way. And it's a pleasure to meet you, no matter the circumstances."

"------- eh? Cute name," said the cowboy. "Nice to meet you m'lady. I'm Irvine Kinneas, at your service," he said, tilting his hat a little.

"WOW! -------! YAY! I have a new friend!" piped in the girl in yellow, who had been quiet until now. "I'm Selphie! Selphie Tilmitt! Nice to meet ya!"

You smile.

"Nice to meet you too," you say, as Quistis used some potions on your wounds.

"There," she said after a while. "You're as good as new! And I don't know about you, but I'm starving. How about some lunch. I'm pretty sure Zell's started without us already so let's join him shall we?"

You smiled again and followed her to where a small campfire was. Everyone was already seated around it, excluding you and Quistis. And that girl in blue. You followed her and sat between her and Squall.

You picked up a hotdog.

"AAH!" yelled a voice. "SQUALL! My spot's taken! B-b-by HER!"

You turned to the source of the voice. It was that girl in blue. She had her finger pointed at you, and suddenly you just wanted to crawl under a rock. She looked so angry.

"Umm, I'll move if you want…" you said quietly, but firmly.

"Yes," she said, still loud. "That would be a good ide--"

"Rinny, don't be mean! -------'s our guest!" said Selphie suddenly. "Besides, there's a spot next to me!" She gave a big smile, hoping to calm down the Princess.

"No!" yelled the girl in blue. "I ALWAYS sit next to Squall. ALWAYS! It's meant to be!"

"Shut up Rinoa. Silence."

Everyone froze. They all turned to face Squall. You didn't want to be left out, so you faced him as well, wondering what all the attention was about.

Rinoa stamped her foot and opened her mouth to talk. But no words came out. She grabbed her throat. Still no words. Then, she took out a small bottle from her pocket, which you read as 'Echo Screen". She drank the content and dropped the bottle carelessly.

"Squally…you silenced me?" she asked, trying very hard to act hurt. "Y-You…"

"I have a headache," said Squall.

"OH!" said Rinoa, suddenly a lot better. "You ONLY silenced me cos your head hurts. NOT cos you hate me! Haha, YAY! Don't worry Squally! I'll make it all better! I'll stay by your side and CURE YOU!"

"Oh god…migraine…" mumbled Squall.

You felt laughter build up inside you and if you didn't escape soon, you knew you'd burst into a ridiculously loud fit of giggles. So you stood up, planning to walk as fast as you could away from the campsite. Unfortunately, Squall thought something as the matter with you. He grabbed your wrist as you took a step.

Whatever happened next was a blur to you. All you knew was that you were on the ground. And Squall was on top of you. Blushing. He quickly and as smoothly as he could stood up, still beet red. Rinoa, you noticed was frozen in shock. Or was it jealousy? You couldn't tell.

"Umm…-------…where're you going?" asked Squall, regaining his composure, though still slightly red.

You wanted to answer. REALLY wanted to answer. But then, you couldn't hold it in. You burst out into laughter. You laughed and you laughed and you laughed. This whole camping thing was so ridiculously funny and awkward that you just couldn't hold it in. You felt tears building up, from too much laughing. And it took a good fifteen minutes for you to calm down.

"Yo -------, you alright there?" asked Zell finally.

"I'm—hahaha fine. Really," you say still giggling a bit.

"WOO! -------, you're so funny!" piped in Selphie, who you could tell was laughing a bit too. The rest of the night continued with a lot more laughs and Rinoa got over the fact that she had to sit between Zell and Selphie. After your goodnights, you went off to bed. Quistis provided a spare blanket and a pillow for you. Your belongings, you presumed…were at the bottom of the cliff. Somewhere.

You slept uncomfortably that night. It wasn't the fact because the blanket and pillow were uncomfortable, but it was your dream. You dreamt it before and it had been nagging you for some time…

"The time has nearly come…it has nearly come…" came a soft voice from nowhere.

You were standing at the bank of a river, the water rippled softly. You sat down, you were waiting for something.

"Mark this moment…and the ones to come…they will arrive…" came the voice again.

"Who will arrive?" you ask out loud. "Who are you? Show yourself!"

"Mark the moment…love…bring it with you…"

You stood up, something was glistening in the sky, among the clouds. It looked like a star…a red star.

"WHO THE HECK ARE YOU?" you yell out.

"-------…--------…--------!!"

"WHAT!?" you yell.

Light seared into your eyes. It was morning.

"Where…where am I?"

"In your sleeping bag, dear," came Quistis' voice. "You had a bad dream?" You looked at her eyes, they were filled with genuine concern.

"Yeah," you replied quietly, not wanting to talk about it.

"Oh, well, you've woken up now! So everything's better! Woo!" screamed Selphie, dancing on the spot. "So, -------, where you heading off to today? We're leaving today, going back to school. The hollies are over," she said with a sigh.

"Yeah, I know," you say, "And I'm starting a new school too. I mean, ever since Trabia Garden was…yeah…I enrolled myself into a new school. I want to become a SeeD."

"Really?" asked Quistis. "What school did you enroll in?"

"Balamb Garden," you reply. "Cid arranged for me to go there."

You heard a smash towards the entrance of the tent. You looked at the ground there and saw broken china and tea…and part of what looked like a teapot. Standing there, was a shocked Rinoa.

"Y-You're coming to my garden? MY garden?" asked Rinoa.

"Um…if your garden is Balamb, then yes," you replied. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied a little too hastily. "Nothing at all." And she left, tripping over piece of broken china.

"Quisty!" squealed Selphie, "-------'s gonna go to our school! YAY! A new recruit for the party committee! Woo!"

"The…party committee?" you ask.

"Selphie here is in charge of organizing garden parties and balls," filled in Quistis.

"YEP!" squealed Selphie. "Oh yay --------! You can hang around us! We'll help you become SeeD and everything!"

You nodded, glad that you already made friends. Maybe this your first day wouldn't be so daunting now.

After packing up everything…well you didn't have anything much to pack, you all hiked up a small hill to where a ship was parked. The Ragnarok.

"Wow," you said. "The Ragnarok…I've heard so much about it."

"Mornin --------!" said Zell, running up with his packed bags. "How'd you sleep last night?"

"It was kinda weird… but I'm okay thanks."

"I heard your gonna go Balamb Garden with us! AWESOME!" he said. "We'll totally teach you how to kick-ass!"

You nodded meekly and got onto the ship. Inside, you found a nice place to sit and relax. You were a cautious when you found out that Selphie was driving, but you tried to forget it and relax. You were still tired for some reason and you could feel sleep descending on you…

"The time is close…it has nearly come…hold onto the moment for as long as you can…"

You looked around. You were standing at the bank of a river. It looked familiar now.

"Devastation…mark this moment…and the ones to come…."

Where was that voice coming from? You found yourself sitting down, waiting for something. You looked up, and there, in the sky, was a red star. It glistened, standing out, even though the clouds were abundant…

You suddenly hear shuffling behind you. You turn around. You can see the silhouette of something, but you can't make it out.

"Perish…Perish…become nothing more…it is the foretold fate…" came the voice. "The storm will die…die.."

You try to locate where the voice is coming from. "Where are you?" you yell frantically. "Show yourself!"

"I'm right her -------!" called out a voice. "Man your nuts. Like totally."

You woke up. Sweat dripping off the side of your face. You looked around. Everyone was crowded around you.

"You are a nutcase -------," said Rinoa, earning glares from the rest of the gang. "What?" she asked, acting as if she didn't know.

"I'm sorry guys…this feels awkward…umm—"

"Everyone off the ship," said Squall suddenly. When nobody moved, he just repeated himself. "Off. The. Ship. Now." This time, everyone moved. You stood up, but Squall stopped you. "You," he began, "stay here."

You sat back down, and watched as everyone filed off the ship, leaving you and Squall alone on the cockpit. You couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Umm, Squall? Did you want to speak?" you asked, just noticing how crystal and stormy his eyes were. He was tall too…and the scar on his face, you wondered where he'd gotten it from.

"-------, I think there's something you should know," he said finally. "It's about your nightmares."

There! Hope you enjoyed reading! R&R please! Hahas